Reviews by sinistermadman:

Pours a nice dark but clear brown with deep copper highlights when held to the light. Slight head which retains a slight ring around the perimeter of the glass.

Subdued aroma is earthy with a wet paper tinge. Taste is good. A slightly citric introduction melds to ripened figs, prunes and other dark fruit. Musty, citric hop bite immediately gives way to some darker malt flavors. Prickly alcohol tinge on the palate with an almost steel like edge. Not too overpowering though. Slick body with an almost watery mouthfeel feels at home. Overall a pretty solid, drinkable beer. Cheers.

More User Reviews:

Smell: Hints of fresh cut grass, fruity some tart, caramel and grain in the nose.

Taste: Crisp carbonation with a medium body and a smooth mouth feel. Spicy twang from the alcohol and phenols tingle and pucker the mouth. Good dose of malt in the mix more of a grain character. Hops are noticeable though more towards the end. On the dry side with a caramel chocolate grain finish.

Notes: A pleasing Dubbel, rich and flavourful with an agreeable collaboration of malt, yeast and hops. One of the better Dubbels to come our way in a long time.

11.2 ouncer, no freshness/bottling info. offered. Pours ruby burnished amber, slightly cloudy, with MAJOR chunkage flowing out of the bottle. Moderate tan head, with retention shown mostly in a large ring around the edge of the glass. Lots of fine bubble, sticky sheeting and nicley developed lacing. Nose is pepperminty, sweet spice. This is a strange tasting brew, cardboardy and some how "off tasting" Mushy in the middle, not impressive, lots of better Belgians out there...

Watch out for the dregs on this one, there is a lot of sediment at the bottom of the bottle.

Pours reddish brown with white head, it recedes quickly but leaves some lace. Smells malty with fruits. Taste is malt. Moderate to light carbonation and medium mouthfeel. Alcohol not evident like it is in a lot of dubbels. Not bad, I would probably drink this again if it is available, but I wouldn't seek this out.

Deep red color with an initially good head that drops to lace very quickly. A little compost to the smell, earthy and woody. Pleasant flavor, heavily malty with some sense of caramel. Medium-bodied. Hops are peppery at the close, mostly there as a balancer. The smell promised more than I tasted here, a little unidimensional and could have used a vague atringency and dried leaf flavor found in some Doubles. Still, a nice beer to enjoy in the cooler months.

pours a very dark reddish brown, hazy, with a generous tan head and an audible effervescence. The head has little retention, but some a thin partial coat and a nice ring remain.

S - spicy toasted malt; a bit subtle but otherwise rather typical for a Belgian dubbel.

T - like many Belgian style beers, this one is a little bit too spiced for my taste, particularly in the finish, although it is not exceptionally spicy for the style. Quite sweet, especially in the initial sensation. Some yeast flavors, and a bit fruity. Lacks the richness and complexity of the best Belgians.

M - smooth and crisp. Lighter body and more carbonation than expected for a Belgian dubbel, but neither of these led me to downgrade my ratings.

11.2 FL.Oz. brown bottle. No head to speak of, whatsoever. Slight carbonation after the initial pour, then nothing. Pretty clear amber color. The nose is sweet, like caramel mixed with chocolate up front, followed by a yeasty aftersmell . Taste has similar sweetness, more caramel than anything else. Finishes on the bitter side, malty. Light body, that has a clean finish.

There is something disjointed with the sweetness, bitterness, and maltiness.

M: strongly carbonated and lightly mild body. Finishes a touch on the earthy side

D: a good drinker and the only thing that stands in the way is the rather light featherweight flavor for this type of beer, not bad though. Maybe that means I can make room for a few more in the belly!

Muddied amber below a puffy, cream colored cloudbank.
Sourdough bread, white pepper and cloves work their way up the sinus cavity.
Images of late Summer drift in. A Bready hammock suspends just off the dry, dirty ground. Freshly fallen, partially dried leaves blow past, and the gaze is cast out on the green September grass. The Granny Smiths lay underneath their tree. The memory conjures how tasty they'd be draped with caramel. Then it drifts to thoughts of clove and rosemary spices. Flavor fades as the herbal hops enter. Late blooming flowers. Touches of grass and sourness linger as the hammock rocks its occupant off to sleep.
Light bodied, yet warm as the Indian Summer.
A lazy-day dubbel. And a nice one.

T - Honey and raisins. Dates and other dried fruits. Initially very sweet, then a small amount of hops hits the back of the tongue to even things out. This doesn't taste anywhere near as good as it smells, but it's still damn good.

M - Slick and sugary. Full bodied and very rich with a small amount of very fine carbonation. Finishes slightly dry and dusty, and I started to notice the alcohol a little as it warmed. I have no idea what the abv is, but I'm guessing that it's upwards of 7%.

D - Great. This is a slow sipper to be savored, not quaffed. But I would definitely buy this again.

Carefully poured even an aged bottle delivers a clear, deep-copper bordering on russet-brown colored body with a fair-sized head of creamy off-white foam. And although it doesn't hold particularly well, it does drop slowly and leaves some very nice, spotty lace throughout the goblet. The aroma offers juicy dark fruit amidst a candyish sweetness; backed by a delicate caramelish malt and subtle spiciness. The flavor follows suit with some additional candyish sugariness and more spice, and the malt reveals a gently toasted character in addition to its caramelized sugars. It's very well balanced, and the alcohol is nicely cloaked. The body is medium with a very fine carbonation that gives it a lightly tingly, creamy mouthfeel; and it finishes with a gently lingering sweet maltiness that fades to reveal some spice and bitterness, leaving the palate refreshed and ready for another sip. An enjoyable and satiating beer!

Poured from the 330ml bottle into a Chouffe tulip glass. Beautiful color of deep orange-brown with some bright orange highlights. A sizeable creamy head crowns this beauty and lingers for a while as the ample carbonation continues to emanate from the bottom of the glass. Aroma of dry, funky Belgian yeast, some sweet Belgian malt, and a hint of candi sugar and dark fruit (figs). Palate is lightly malty up front, with a hint of sweetness leading to a dry finish. Body is a bit airy and dry, which is kind of incongruous for this usually heavy style. I'm a bit disappointed in this one - the wonderful appearance belies its rather ho-hum qualities.

11.2oz bottle poured into a St. Bernardus chalice. The aroma is very sweet, medicinal and bready with some dark fruits and yeast. Much like the smell, the taste is sweet malt with dark fruits with some spice and hops rounding out the finish. Overall, this is an odd dubbel but not odd in a bad way. There certainly are better dubbels out there, but I have had worse too. Recommended.

Sterken's Dubbel pours an interesting scarlet stained caramel color. Looks very light for the style. It's clear and backlighting gives it a scarlet tint. Carbonation is active and yields a light tan head that easily reaches three fingers. It settled down quickly to a surface covering. The Sam Adams bubble generator at the bottom of this glass kept it steady. Lacing was thin and stringy. Not bad, but not great.

The nose keeps the 'above average' thing going. It's a little on the weak side in terms of power. There's some light spicy notes up front. Smells like cinnamon, pepper, and a few other indentified characters. That aspect's not bad, but definitely needs to be ramped up. It has a decent malty presence and smells a little sweet. Light floral hops are noted and give it a bit of an earthy smell. Belgian yeast is noted, but is way too weak. There's a theme here...it's too weak. There's something to work with here, but it needs to be amplified quite a bit.

My first impression of the flavor is that it's good. Better than the nose suggested. A nice blend of cinnamon and pepper spices kicks it off. There's certainly some ancillary varieties there, but those are the most pronounced. Chocolate malts give it a nice malty base. It's slightly sweet. Apple and pear fruit flavors make an appearance and complement the other flavors nicely. I didn't pick that up in the nose. Grain and light earthy flavors are noted. An infusion of floral hops is probably the culprit. Belgian yeast is present in the flavor, but it's a little hidden in the mix. A little more in that department would've helped a lot, but it's just not in the cards...sadly. I'm unsure of the abv here, but it's certainly not noted in flavor. Finishes with a nice spicy hop surge.

Its body is on the lighter side of medium and feels a tad thin. Carbonation is active and buzzy. It's not quite smooth, but it's serviceable. Drinkability is above average. The flavor's pretty good and it's going down quickly. I like it alright, but am just about ready to move on. It just doesn't have that special something that draws you back.

Sterkens Dubbel is easily above average and almost good all-around. The nose and the body could use a little attention, but the flavor's not bad at all. A little more noise from Belgian yeast would certainly improve that aspect a little, but its muted presence doesn't hurt it too bad. There's still enough flavor to go around. All in all, it's pretty good and definitely worth picking up if you spot a bottle.

Mmm, juicy, but with smooth caramel candy and toffee to match. The juice reminds of Welch's grape juice with tart cherries, strawberries, and a hint of green apple thrown in. This one finishes with a neutral (not really sweet or bitter) aftertaste and a touch of lingering cut-grass and black pepper hops flavors. The body is medium weight and there's just enough carbonation to provide a refreshing feel. Worth trying and underrated IMO. Similar to Grimbergen Dubbel, but better.

A: I wasn't expecting much from the look of this. It's a muddy ice tea color.

S: Belgian spice. That's all I could think of. Perhaps some corriander.

T: great taste! Very refreshing! This is hard to explain because mostly what you get is the spice and taste from the Belgian yeast. However unlike a lo that I've had this is very well balanced and the spice compliments the rest of the beer.

M: this feels like creamy goodness. Makes me want to take another drink!

This beer pours a deep amber color with a really thin, short-lived head that leaves hardly any lace. The nose is of roasted malt with somewhat of a nutty characteristic. The taste is of the malt with almost no hop flavor penetrating through. The mouthfeel is rather thin and weak for the style. Drinkability wasn't poor, but I wasn't in a hurry to grab another one. This is one of the few Belgian beers with which I've been disappointed. Although it's certainly not bad, it's over-priced and rather average for its style.

Sterkens Dubbel Ale: Kind of a curious taste, I guess I was anticipating more of a yeasty tartness to this beer, but it has really got a lot of candy like sweetness. The color is a deep amber, with a very white head for the style and, nice Belgian lacing. The aroma is sweet and candy like, although not cloying. As already noted, the taste is driven by sweetness of the malts, and perhaps a wee bit too much rock sugar. It is lacking that blazing alcohol warmth that so many of its cousins in the style have. All in all, it is probably a poor example of the style, but I like it, damn me to beer geek hell, I like it.

Presentation: Poured from an 11.2oz brown bottle into a Duvel goblet. The label is slightly different than that shown on BA, more silver and not as much color. No back label, only the front. Only indication of age is a notch on the bottom of the front label.

Appearance: Pours with a half inch, off white head. Settles down a bit, but sticks around and leaves lots of lacing. The beer itself is a hazy copper, crown color.

Smell: Sweet, caramel, malt and alcohol. Almost nutty and raisiny.

Taste: Sweet. Hints of raisins and sweet milk chocolate. Almost a bubblegum like undertone: phenols? Slightly spicy, sometimes tastes of bananas, this beer is full of flavor nuances.

Mouthfeel: Average level of carbonation, great mouthfeel.

Drinkability: One of the top beers I had tried so far. Not sure of the ABV, but overall this is a great beer to enjoy over and over and I think I shall do just that.

Pours a ruby red with a very thin head that clings in patches throughout. The smell is mostly grassy with just a scent of alcohol. Prominent bitter malt taste with a light and spicy hoppy feel that comes after a few sips. Has almost an earthy aftertaste, very warming--the alcohol feel is right on target, very drinkable.

Pours a golden hue with a thin head that dissipates quickly. Lots of tantalizing bubbles at first that quickly disappear. Smells of strong malt.

Tastes of malt, hops, bit of caramel, and hint of coriander. Very good mouthfeel. The malts and hops dance around the edges of the tongue with the adequate carbonation. Some unpleasant off flavors though that are hard to pinpoint.

Cardboard flavor with a hint of fruit. Light body for a dubbel with a dark brown color, nothing exceptional for a Belgian Dubbel. The foam was not there possibly and old case... but the taste was very drab and not exciting. As far as Belgians go not up to their standard.

This beer pours a clear red/brown with a rocky/bubbly off white head. The mouthfeel is moderate and very average. The smell is caramel-like and somewhate grassy. The taste is cookielike with mild herbal/grassy hoppiness and a slight warming alcohol. This beer while not bad, made me wonder if this was a Belgian version of macroswill. If so can we trade it for Bud?